I was wading through my emails tonight, and one of them was entitled Stila’s 4 Simple Steps to Complexion perfection — and when I linked to the 4 Steps, I got a little sad. One of the reasons I had moved to Stila (and Bobbi Brown) from Laura Mercier was that they did not push the flawless face concept, but rather what I call the realistic face concept.
Some background: six years ago, Laura Mercier’s 4 step flawless face was a big deal — and it was true that with a combination of primer, 2 different kinds of concealer, foundation (mixed with tinted moisturizer as recommended by the LM artists) and loose powder, one could have a flawless face. Better yet, it would last and last. But even when very proficient and quick, Laura Mercier’s flawless face took a good 20 minutes to get the airbrushed look.
Then I started using Stila and realizing that I could get a near-flawless face in 5 minutes — because they had a great tinted moisturizer and a pressed powder foundation — together the two were fast to apply and gave great results. More than the products though, I loved both Stila and Bobbi Brown for not pushing a flawless face campaign. And now the Stila page looks like an echo of Laura Mercier perfection.
The other thing that made me sad was the Stila Hydrating Powder in “One Shades Fits All” — having done makeup on myself and many others over the years, I can say unequivocally that that’s impossible. Stila has always cut corners and not had enough of a range of shades, but this is just unacceptable.
So overall, I am a little disappointed with one of my favorite brands and where it is heading.
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
